My Experience Buying/Shopping For A New Car

[MoonRiverOasis]

think that all car dealers in Phuket will give you test drive, i know Chevy, Honda, Toyota, Merc, will do it

I have personally purchased 16 new cars in Thailand, and each time I buy I end up test-driving at least 3-4 competitors as well - not once have I had a problem getting a test drive. In fact I routinely test-drive cars just to see if they'll impress me enough to want one, again never a problem.

That's in Thailand though, not in Pattaya

[wandrinstar]

Saw a Chevy today in Ubon with '' Test drive '' in big letters on the sides.

Sure it wasnt "Tetdry"

[Shot]

but i think that all car dealers in Phuket will give you test drive, i know Chevy, Honda, Toyota, Merc, will do it

Isuzu in Phuket will also give a test drive. I even had the wife and 2 kids with me; we went out for about an hour. The sales staff was knowledgeable and their service was excellent.

　

　

[transam]

Saw a Chevy today in Ubon with '' Test drive '' in big letters on the sides.

Sure it wasnt "Tetdry"

Weeeeeeeell, it was BUT for the spelling correct guys here, thought I'd better spell check to avoid a ruckus.

[kuffki]

Saw a Chevy today in Ubon with '' Test drive '' in big letters on the sides.

Sure it wasnt "Tetdry"

Weeeeeeeell, it was BUT for the spelling correct guys here, thought I'd better spell check to avoid a ruckus.

When i was in Mitsu, as i mentioned they also had Pajero with TEST DRIVE written on it, but when i asked, was told i can not. I did point at the sticker saying "Test Drive" but got the "stupid" giggle and sales girl was gone with the wind.

When my Thai manager called an older sales girl over to question about the same thing, her exact words in Thai were " what do you want"

PS. In what do you want sentence in Thai, there was not even a "KA" on the end so it was basically "Owe arai"

But for a laugh, you should visit Isuzu and ask for Xseries. Some how it is now "Eksily" took me good 5 mins to translate what Eksily was

Edited July 16, 2011 by kuffki

[seriouseats]

The average foreigner living in pattaya should be enough for you to understand why thais in those areas have no respect for you even before talking to you.. it's like blaming a store clerk in a black ghetto for following or kicking out a gangster dressed black kid out of his store. It's not "ok" but he has a good reason.. sort of.

[kuffki]

The average foreigner living in pattaya should be enough for you to understand why thais in those areas have no respect for you even before talking to you.. it's like blaming a store clerk in a black ghetto for following or kicking out a gangster dressed black kid out of his store. It's not "ok" but he has a good reason.. sort of.

I do not agree with you on that ,

with increasing prices and development, Pattaya is becoming a much nicer place with nicer people.

Just an idea of a trend for you, in one of my hotels every weekend, its full of Thai's from BKK, Every long weekend, traffic is same as BKK, all are from BKK.

As Pattaya is expanding, so there is more to see and more to do , not just the Walking Street, the red light district. The moment you step 500 meters away from Walking street or the main drag(Soi buakhao) you no longer see all the crap.

If anything, i think the attitude is 'farang" have money and he is stupid enough just to give it away. That mentality does come from seeing the idiots-i agree, but they do spend money, they buy cars, bikes, houses for their darlings.

One thing i have noticed and it is driving me crazy, it is very hard to find good staff(Thai) because a huge number come to Pattaya to make millions and many find their way into the bar or meet some "idiot" who starts to support them with ridiculous money, not to mention putting businesses into their names, houses and cars.

But on the bright note, Pattaya is to become BKK beachfront suburb as they have approved and going ahead with highspeed train. BKK to Pattaya in 30 mins(just approved the other day)

[katabeachbum]

The average foreigner living in pattaya should be enough for you to understand why thais in those areas have no respect for you even before talking to you.. it's like blaming a store clerk in a black ghetto for following or kicking out a gangster dressed black kid out of his store. It's not "ok" but he has a good reason.. sort of.

I do not agree with you on that ,

with increasing prices and development, Pattaya is becoming a much nicer place with nicer people.

Just an idea of a trend for you, in one of my hotels every weekend, its full of Thai's from BKK, Every long weekend, traffic is same as BKK, all are from BKK.

As Pattaya is expanding, so there is more to see and more to do , not just the Walking Street, the red light district. The moment you step 500 meters away from Walking street or the main drag(Soi buakhao) you no longer see all the crap.

If anything, i think the attitude is 'farang" have money and he is stupid enough just to give it away. That mentality does come from seeing the idiots-i agree, but they do spend money, they buy cars, bikes, houses for their darlings.

One thing i have noticed and it is driving me crazy, it is very hard to find good staff(Thai) because a huge number come to Pattaya to make millions and many find their way into the bar or meet some "idiot" who starts to support them with ridiculous money, not to mention putting businesses into their names, houses and cars.

But on the bright note, Pattaya is to become BKK beachfront suburb as they have approved and going ahead with highspeed train. BKK to Pattaya in 30 mins(just approved the other day)

Pattaya weekends are for the low budget, Thai and farang

Hua Hin has been for a century and will continue to be BKK peoples weekend getaway

It was like this when I first went from BKK to pattaya 41 years ago, I believe it will continue

Talking about market for car dealers, Pattaya aint easy. Many purchase cars out of province and out of province plates is more normal than strange

In Phuket 30% of all new sales/registration is on Thai out of province resident, ad 10% on foreigners, indicating few purchases are done out of Province. Out of province plates are not common. As for test drives, went to look at Honda Brio for my GF yesterday. A car was provided for testdrive within 10 minutes

Pattaya. Honey, I have been tyrekicking and testdriving all pickups and decided to get a Vigoxxx, yes darling I will call my cousin in nakorn nowhere and we buy it there. He will give us an additional dashboard carpet for free. Ok darling

[kuffki]

The average foreigner living in pattaya should be enough for you to understand why thais in those areas have no respect for you even before talking to you.. it's like blaming a store clerk in a black ghetto for following or kicking out a gangster dressed black kid out of his store. It's not "ok" but he has a good reason.. sort of.

I do not agree with you on that ,

with increasing prices and development, Pattaya is becoming a much nicer place with nicer people.

Just an idea of a trend for you, in one of my hotels every weekend, its full of Thai's from BKK, Every long weekend, traffic is same as BKK, all are from BKK.

As Pattaya is expanding, so there is more to see and more to do , not just the Walking Street, the red light district. The moment you step 500 meters away from Walking street or the main drag(Soi buakhao) you no longer see all the crap.

If anything, i think the attitude is 'farang" have money and he is stupid enough just to give it away. That mentality does come from seeing the idiots-i agree, but they do spend money, they buy cars, bikes, houses for their darlings.

One thing i have noticed and it is driving me crazy, it is very hard to find good staff(Thai) because a huge number come to Pattaya to make millions and many find their way into the bar or meet some "idiot" who starts to support them with ridiculous money, not to mention putting businesses into their names, houses and cars.

But on the bright note, Pattaya is to become BKK beachfront suburb as they have approved and going ahead with highspeed train. BKK to Pattaya in 30 mins(just approved the other day)

Pattaya weekends are for the low budget, Thai and farang

Hua Hin has been for a century and will continue to be BKK peoples weekend getaway

It was like this when I first went from BKK to pattaya 41 years ago, I believe it will continue

Talking about market for car dealers, Pattaya aint easy. Many purchase cars out of province and out of province plates is more normal than strange

In Phuket 30% of all new sales/registration is on Thai out of province resident, ad 10% on foreigners, indicating few purchases are done out of Province. Out of province plates are not common

Pattaya. Honey, I have been tyrekicking and testdriving all pickups and decided to get a Vigoxxx, yes darling I will call my cousin in nakorn nowhere and we buy it there. He will give us an additional dashboard carpet for free. Ok darling

I think you might be surprised at the people who come to Pattaya now. Just the amount of brand new benz, porsche and bentley's is already an indication. I am by ni means saying Pattaya is a heaven but i can tell you for sure, it is changing and much faster than you think. More and More "highso" bars are opening up, hair saloons, shops, coffee shops etc.

Just an example for you, my customer/guest last night was a high court judge from BKK.

Also i think you will find that if Pattaya dealers gave better deals or/and service, people would not be buying from the provinces. I personally could not even be bothered to travel to BKK, but i wil now.

As i said in earlier post(i think) my phone has not stopped ringing from the dealers i visited, Isuzu specifically. Before i go on, let me just say that before going to BKK, i called one dealership and was offered 15K OFF each car, almost half price for the leather seats and better "trade in" price for the wheels as i want to get bigger wheels.. Do keep in mind, all that just from a phone call. While the local dealer would not even drop 1000 baht.

Anyhow, i advised local dealer of the deal offered in BKK, her response was to go to BKK get it in writing so she can confirm it and than she will match it. But why would i go to BKK to then come back? Of course i will go to BKK and buy it from that dealer and sales person who had enough brain cells to offer me a deal to get the sale.

So in other words, if local dealers did offer great deals, an actually provided a decent service, then people would not bother to travel 1000 kms away to buy a car. But from i can see, this problem seems to be only in Pattaya as according to many posters on this thread, other regions treat customers with some respect and do give deals

[YellowFeverCAD]

Pattaya weekends are for the low budget, Thai and farang

Hua Hin has been for a century and will continue to be BKK peoples weekend getaway

Sorry for being OT but couldn't agree more on the above. The wife and I have always taken the kids to the Centara Villas in Hua Hin, one weekend we got offered a great deal on the Centara Resort in Pattaya, never having been there we were assured by the hotel staff that they were in the "family oriented" part of Pattaya. While standing in line to check in we watched a very very nasty scene between a rather old and tired looking farang as his much younger tattoo covered "friend" in the micro shorts as they battled it out verbally for all to hear. We cut our three day trip to one night and will never return again. There was nothing family feeling about the place to me or my wife. I think we will stick to Hua Hin for the last minute weekend getaways and of course Sentosa in SG for the out of country weekend getaway. Just MHO

[transam]

Pattaya weekends are for the low budget, Thai and farang

Hua Hin has been for a century and will continue to be BKK peoples weekend getaway

Sorry for being OT but couldn't agree more on the above. The wife and I have always taken the kids to the Centara Villas in Hua Hin, one weekend we got offered a great deal on the Centara Resort in Pattaya, never having been there we were assured by the hotel staff that they were in the "family oriented" part of Pattaya. While standing in line to check in we watched a very very nasty scene between a rather old and tired looking farang as his much younger tattoo covered "friend" in the micro shorts as they battled it out verbally for all to hear. We cut our three day trip to one night and will never return again. There was nothing family feeling about the place to me or my wife. I think we will stick to Hua Hin for the last minute weekend getaways and of course Sentosa in SG for the out of country weekend getaway. Just MHO

Good for you. Some really sad stuff about. Saw some today up in the N.E.

[seriouseats]

you're talking about the higher income thais coming to pattaya.. the majority of farang in pattaya is still the lowest. Majority makes the norm.

[wandrinstar]

Kuffki has it right.I go to Fun City for Bike Week.The Hotel is World Class, the Super Car Showroom on Suk, has all the Sillies you want,and there's Hotel Cockroach, and Whores round Marine Bar area if you want that.Must admit to going to Soi 7 one afternoon each visit just to listen to the Ex Pat Drunks though..Name one big City without a Fault, they are like Cars.!!!

[Wallaby]

Kuffki I know exactly what you mean........why go to BKK to get a written quote just so a lazy salesperson in Patts can match it. Give your custom to the person that was proactive.

Perhaps drive past the other car yards in your new wheels whilst waving at the lazy gits.

I'd be interested to know how it all turns out.

Edited July 17, 2011 by Wallaby

[phutoie2]

Pattaya weekends are for the low budget, Thai and farang

Hua Hin has been for a century and will continue to be BKK peoples weekend getaway

Sorry for being OT but couldn't agree more on the above. The wife and I have always taken the kids to the Centara Villas in Hua Hin, one weekend we got offered a great deal on the Centara Resort in Pattaya, never having been there we were assured by the hotel staff that they were in the "family oriented" part of Pattaya. While standing in line to check in we watched a very very nasty scene between a rather old and tired looking farang as his much younger tattoo covered "friend" in the micro shorts as they battled it out verbally for all to hear. We cut our three day trip to one night and will never return again. There was nothing family feeling about the place to me or my wife. I think we will stick to Hua Hin for the last minute weekend getaways and of course Sentosa in SG for the out of country weekend getaway. Just MHO

Good for you. Some really sad stuff about. Saw some today up in the N.E.

Just for a minute I could have sworn that this was the motoring forum .

I do'nt give a flying <deleted> where up market or low market farangs like to spend the weekend.

and stop inventing waffle about old boys and their young totty, its not clever.

[YellowFeverCAD]

Just for a minute I could have sworn that this was the motoring forum .

I do'nt give a flying <deleted> where up market or low market farangs like to spend the weekend.

and stop inventing waffle about old boys and their young totty, its not clever.

I thought I was in the motoring forum as well, but where exactly in YOUR post is any reference to motoring of any kind???

FYI I did apologize in advance for being OT and it was my only OT post... prior to this one...

So yeah back to cars

[kuffki]

Guys who own a BMW in Thailand, can you please give an indication of the average service prices at BMW center.

Also, parts are as over priced as the cars in LOS? and what about parts availability?

I am just seriously considering just to get a BMW and save myself the hassles.

I did own 2 back in Oz, 316i and 320CI Coupe and could not be happier. 316 was little "weak" but 320CI, was simply a dream

Service was about double if not triple to other makes, but nothing ever broke or went wrong.

Selling one though is a real hassle

[surayu]

I do understand that perhaps the amount was hard for you to grasp

While i agree there is a problem with the customer service with many businesses here in Thailand, as i already pointed out before, this time the "problem" might lay down with the OP and his failure to understand very simple sentences in plain english.

On top of that, you also have to add his attitude in giving "smart harse" replies, then the whole scenario is complitely clear....

Can you imagine him stepping in a local shop and start blubbering some complete nonsense? obviously any sane minded staff will try to send him away, then he comes out with " you send me away because that amount of money is hard to grasp for you..." ohh dear.

Then look at the way, once the damage is done, he send a third person to try to negotiate on his behalf, obviously, as soon as the merchant realize the connection between the two of them, no wonder he declines to have anything to do with them....

you are speaking from experience.amazing after all those beatings you received , you can still type

Here is another nice thought from the OP....honestly, i wonder how did YOU manage to escape unhurt from the experiences you are talking about, some thais really have a great patience....and the suggestion you read again the story, it's still valid, you might eventually understand it, good luck with it :jap:

[katabeachbum]

Guys who own a BMW in Thailand, can you please give an indication of the average service prices at BMW center.

Also, parts are as over priced as the cars in LOS? and what about parts availability?

I am just seriously considering just to get a BMW and save myself the hassles.

I did own 2 back in Oz, 316i and 320CI Coupe and could not be happier. 316 was little "weak" but 320CI, was simply a dream

Service was about double if not triple to other makes, but nothing ever broke or went wrong.

Selling one though is a real hassle

a new bm from authorised dealer comes with 5 years BIS, services and scheduled repairs like brakes, baked into the price

[kuffki]

I do understand that perhaps the amount was hard for you to grasp

While i agree there is a problem with the customer service with many businesses here in Thailand, as i already pointed out before, this time the "problem" might lay down with the OP and his failure to understand very simple sentences in plain english.

On top of that, you also have to add his attitude in giving "smart harse" replies, then the whole scenario is complitely clear....

Can you imagine him stepping in a local shop and start blubbering some complete nonsense? obviously any sane minded staff will try to send him away, then he comes out with " you send me away because that amount of money is hard to grasp for you..." ohh dear.

Then look at the way, once the damage is done, he send a third person to try to negotiate on his behalf, obviously, as soon as the merchant realize the connection between the two of them, no wonder he declines to have anything to do with them....

you are speaking from experience.amazing after all those beatings you received , you can still type

Here is another nice thought from the OP....honestly, i wonder how did YOU manage to escape unhurt from the experiences you are talking about, some thais really have a great patience....and the suggestion you read again the story, it's still valid, you might eventually understand it, good luck with it :jap:

as already stated a few times-please find some other place to troll.,:jap:

[kuffki]

Guys who own a BMW in Thailand, can you please give an indication of the average service prices at BMW center.

Also, parts are as over priced as the cars in LOS? and what about parts availability?

I am just seriously considering just to get a BMW and save myself the hassles.

I did own 2 back in Oz, 316i and 320CI Coupe and could not be happier. 316 was little "weak" but 320CI, was simply a dream

Service was about double if not triple to other makes, but nothing ever broke or went wrong.

Selling one though is a real hassle

a new bm from authorised dealer comes with 5 years BIS, services and scheduled repairs like brakes, baked into the price

ok, great, what about parts availability? i mean if say brake pads need changing, is there a wait to get from factory? or are they well stocked?

[surayu]

as already stated a few times-please find some other place to troll.,:jap:

Please don't get me wrong, after all i am just trying to help you out, no offence of any kind is meant in my words.

I just spotted an "issue" with you and i am doing my best to point that out, sometime these "lacks" might be hideing something much more serious, better you invest some time in having a health check, for your own goods (...and ours).

Just denying it wouldn't help you, believe me.

[kuffki]

as already stated a few times-please find some other place to troll.,:jap:

Please don't get me wrong, after all i am just trying to help you out, no offence of any kind is meant in my words.

I just spotted an "issue" with you and i am doing my best to point that out, sometime these "lacks" might be hideing something much more serious, better you invest some time in having a health check, for your own goods (...and ours).

Just denying it wouldn't help you, believe me.

[wandrinstar]

This is getting silly, BM, has been here as long as Buddhas Dog. Cause you can get parts easily, now just go buy one so the Forum can get back to endless Truks, Chips, and i did 160.

[katabeachbum]

Guys who own a BMW in Thailand, can you please give an indication of the average service prices at BMW center.

Also, parts are as over priced as the cars in LOS? and what about parts availability?

I am just seriously considering just to get a BMW and save myself the hassles.

I did own 2 back in Oz, 316i and 320CI Coupe and could not be happier. 316 was little "weak" but 320CI, was simply a dream

Service was about double if not triple to other makes, but nothing ever broke or went wrong.

Selling one though is a real hassle

a new bm from authorised dealer comes with 5 years BIS, services and scheduled repairs like brakes, baked into the price

ok, great, what about parts availability? i mean if say brake pads need changing, is there a wait to get from factory? or are they well stocked?

near bkk, no problem, south of bkk, only dealer is in songkla and phuket, same company

problem arises later on, a new ZF auto box is 3-500k baht from germany

[wandrinstar]

Dont worry the Gearbox only falls out if you drive like a Prat.I find its still there now im older.:jap:

[katabeachbum]

Dont worry the Gearbox only falls out if you drive like a Prat.I find its still there now im older.:jap:

a neighbors (in Hua Hin) 2008 525i just needed a new one at 90k km, lady driver and owner, 300k baht, not covered by BIS, actually still red plate

[wandrinstar]

Dont worry the Gearbox only falls out if you drive like a Prat.I find its still there now im older.:jap:

a neighbors (in Hua Hin) 2008 525i just needed a new one at 90k km, lady driver and owner, 300k baht, not covered by BIS, actually still red plate

Lady Driver. 2008, Red Plate, Hin Pot Holes, cause it fell out. .You seen the daft prats hit the speed bumps, JEEEEEZ, i felt that. .Well the Bars are open here, Ize off 4/1.My Wife cold wreck a War Pig quicker than an I.D.

[ignis]

5 years now on a BMW ? well there catching up slowly... Hyundai is 7 years...

[YellowFeverCAD]

5 years now on a BMW ? well there catching up slowly... Hyundai is 7 years...

Curious where you are getting this information from?

If you check the Hyundai website it clearly says 3 years or 100,000 km whatever comes first you can see that plainly here

http://www.hyundai-motor.co.th/dealer_service_service.php?id=9

Basic Warranty: The basic warranty covers everything except items that are subject to wear and tear or replacement in the ordinary course of vehicle ownership, such as oil and air filters, wiper blades and brake pads. Tires and batteries are excluded.

OTOH BMW is now offering 5 years or 100,000 bumper to bumper excluding ONLY Tires and Batteries. They do in fact cover oil changes all parts and labor and anything subject to wear and tear.

So not trying to nit pick with you but I am curious where you saw Hyundai in Thailand offering that 7 year bumper to bumper warranty.